Device for shaping the butt ends of candles



July 8, 1969" s. R. F. Y. BJQRCK 3,453,686

' DEV ICE FOR SHAPING THE BUTT ENDS OF CANDLES Filed March 14, 1967 FIG.

United States Patent 3,453,686 DEVICE FOR SHAPING THE BUTT ENDS 0F CANDLES Sverker R. F. Y. Bjorck, Enskede, Sweden, assignor to Liljeholmens Stearinfabriks AB, Stockholm, Sweden, a company of Sweden Filed Mar. 14, 1967, Ser. No. 623,073 Claims priority, application Sweden, Mar. 15, 1966, 3,407/66 Int. Cl. B29c N00 US. Cl. 18-1 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a device for shaping the butt ends of candles. The device generally consists of coaxially aligned frusto-conical sections and laterally extending drainage means.

Background In-the manufacture of candles by means of dipping, moulding and extrusion, the desired candle length is obtained by means of cutting. However, in order to get a conical butt end the candle ends must be turned or formed by inserting them into a heated conical form so as to melt away the excessive candle material.

When the candle end is dipped into a heated conical form the outer layer of the candle will melt and the molten composition flows upwards in a form which creates undesirable rounds around the base of the candle and which have to be separately removed. It is therefore of great importance that the molten excessive stearine be removed entirely. To this end it has been proposed to secure draining of the excessive molten material by directing a high pressure air stream around the end of the candle while removing the candle from the heated form. However, this proposal has not been proved to be reliable in operation and has not been applied in practical use.

Brief summary of the invention The device according to the present invention primarily involves coaxially arranged frusto-conical sections comprising an upper section for guiding the candle end and a lower section for shaping the candle end, and at the approximate juncture of said sections a circular groove is provided for draining away any excess of the molten candle composition. Guidance and centralization of the candle end are thus obtained as well as an efficient draining away of the molten composition. In order to facilitate cleaning of the device it is preferable to have it constructed in two parts which can be readily disassembled.

The drawings FIGURE 1 is a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of my invention; and

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of a third embodiment of my invention.

Detailed description FIGURE 1 shows a unitary device in accordance with this invention which consists of an upper frusto-conical section 1 for guiding the downward placement of the butt end of a candle and a lower frusto-conical section 2 for shaping (by melting) the butt end of the candle, said lower section 2 having a larger diameter end that is substantially the same diameter as the smaller diameter end of said upper frusto-conical section 1. It will be noted that said upper and lower frusto-conical sections are coaxially aligned and the smaller diameter end of said upper section substantially merges with the larger diameter end of said lower section. A plurality of drainage passageways 4 are provided adjacent the circumferential line of approach of said upper and lower sections. A circumferential inwardly extending groove 3 preferably interconnects the plurality of drainage passageways 4. A third frusto-conical section 5 limits the downward movement of the butt of the candle and also compensates for the round which would result by the flowing down of the candle composition on the surface of the candle when the candle is elevated. A fourth frusto-conical section 6 facilitates draining of the melted bottom of the candle. The upper frusto-conical section 1 is also provided with an outwardly extending collar 7 which functions as a support means when the device is lowered into an appropriate opening in a heating chamber.

FIGURE 2 shows a two-part device in accordance with this invention which consists of a separable upper frustoconical section 11 for guiding the downward placement of the butt end of a candle and a lower frusto-conical section 12 for shaping (by melting) the butt end of the candle, said lower section 12 having a larger diameter end that is substantially the same diameter as the smaller diameter end of said upper frusto-conical section 11. It will be noted that said upper and lower frusto-conical sections are coaxially aligned and the smaller diameter end of said upper section substantially merges with the larger diameter end of said lower section. A plurality of drainage passageways 14 are provided adjacent the circumferential line of approach of said upper and lower sections. A circumferential groove 13 preferably interconnects the plurality of drainage passageways 14. Groove 13 can be formed by beveling the upper inner edge 10 of section 12. A third frusto-conical section 15 limits the downward movement of the butt of the candle and also compensates for the round which would result by the flowing down of the candle composition on the surface of the candle when the candle is elevated. A fourth frustoconical section 16 facilitates draining of the melted bottom of the candle. The upper frusto-conical section 11 is also provided with an outwardly extending collar 17 which functions as a support means when the device is lowered into an appropriate opening in a heating chamber (not shown).

In the two-piece arrangement shown. in FIGURE 2 it will be seen that the drainage passageways 14 can be semicircular in cross section, so that when the two parts are disassembled the drainage passageways can be easily cleaned. In FIGURE 2 the two parts are merely shown as being friction fitted together (primarily by virtue of upwardly extending neck 18 and the exterior of sections 17 and 19) but it is to be understood that it would involve no invention to have the two parts threaded together, bolted together, etc.

Detailed description FIGURE 3 shows a two-part device in accordance with this invention which consists of a separable upper frustoconical section 21 for guiding the downward placement of the butt end of a candle and a lower frusto-conical section 22 for shaping the butt end of the candle, said lower section 22 having a larger diameter end that is substantially the same diameter as the smaller diameter end of said upper frusto-conical section 21. It will be noted that said upper and lower frusto-conical sections are coaxially aligned and the smaller diameter end of said upper section substantially merges with the larger diameter end of said lower section. A plurality of drainage passageways 24 are provided adjacent the circumferential line of approach of said upper and lower sections. A circumferential groove 23 preferably interconnects the plurality of drainage passageways 24. Groove 23 can be formed by beveling the upper inner edge 20 of section 22. A third frusto-conical section 25 limits the downward movement of the butt of the candle and also compensates for the round which would result by the flowing down of the candle composition on the surface of the candle when the candle is elevated. A fourth frusto-conical section 26 facilitates draining of the melted bottom of the candle. The upper frusto-conical section 21 is also provided with an outwardly extending collar 27 which functions as a support means when the device is lowered into an appropriate opening in a heating chamber.

In the two-piece arrangement shown in FIGURE 3 the drainage passageway 14 is also shown to be semicircular in cross section, which permits easy cleaning of the passageways when the two parts are disassembled. While the two parts are merely shown as being friction fitted together (primarily by virtue of upwardly extending neck 28 and downwardly extending section 29) it would of course involve no invention to have the two parts threaded together, bolted together, etc.

In order to obtain the best possible operation the larger diameter of the lower frusto-conical section should preferably be identical with the diameter of the candle. In manufacturing candles on a factory scale, a number of our novel devices are inserted in corresponding openings in a cover of a container that is preferably vapour heated. More particularly, the collars 7, 17 and 27 in FIG- URES 13 permit the upper part of our device to remain above the cover and the lower part of the device to extend beneath the cover. The heat beneath the cover of the container keeps the lower frusto-conical shaping section at a temperature of about 90 C. and this temperature insures that there will be a rapid melting of the surface of that portion of the candle that comes in contact with the lower frusto-conical section. Part of the thusmelted stearine will run downwardly (e.g. over sections and 6 of FIGURE 1) and also part of the melted stearine will fiow into the annular groove and then outwardly through the plurality of drainage passageways. The use of a large frame for holding a plurality of candles permits a large number of candles to be lowered into a large number of devices mounted in a heated cover. As soon as the desired amount of melting off and shaping has taken place, the candles can be removed.

What I claim is:

1. A device for shaping the butt ends of candles which is characterized by:

(a) an upper frusto-conical section for guiding the butt end of a candle,

(b) a lower frusto-conical section for shaping the butt end of a candle, said lower section having a larger diameter end of said upper section,

(0) said upper and lower frusto-conical sections being coaxially aligned,

(d) the smaller diameter end of said upper section being in close proximity to the larger diameter end of said lower section, and

(e) said device defining a radially outwardly directed groove extending circumferentially about the inner periphery of the device at the circumferential line of intersection of said upper and lower sections, said device having a plurality of spaced drainage passages formed therethrough extending laterally from said groove to the outer periphery of the device, said passages having bottom surfaces sloping downwardly and outwardly of the device.

2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said lower frusto-conical section merges downwardly into a third frusto-conical section having a lower end of a diameter less than the diameter of the lower end of said lower frusto-conical section.

3. A device according to claim 2, wherein said third frusto-conical section merges downwardly into a fourth frusto-conical section having a lower end of a diameter greater than the diameter of the lower end of said third frusto-conical section.

4. A device according to claim 1, wherein the upper frusto-conical section is separable from the remainder of the device.

5. A device according to claim 2, wherein the upper frusto-conical section is separable from the remainder of the device.

6. A device according to claim 3, wherein the upper frusto-conical section is separable from the remainder of the device.

7. A device according to claim 4, wherein said drainage passageways are in the upper part of the lower frustoconical section.

8. A device according to claim 5, wherein said drainage passageways are in the upper part of the lower frustoconical section.

9. A device according to claim 6, wherein said drainage passageways are in the upper part of the lower frustoconical section.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS WILLIAM J. STEPHENSON, Primary Examiner. 

